Knife sharpener



I F. R. #:HESTER 2,477,860

KNIFE SHARPENER Filed July 27, 1945 a P1 .5, INVENTOR. 7 KB. 6455758 ziy- Arroeuek Patented Aug. 2, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims. 1

My present invention relates to a knife sharpener particularly adapted for sharpening kitchen, meat, or other similar knives.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a device of this class whereby a blade or knife may be drawn across the device and thereby produce the force or energy required to sharpen the knife or blade by substantially cutting or grinding the edge of the knife or blade in order to sharpen the same, thus requiring no exterior force or energy other than the actual drawing or moving of the knife or blade across the device.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a device of this class which is provided with a knife or blade burnishing means, which, when the knife or blade is drawn thereover or thereacross, will operate the cutting or other sharpening means therefor.

An important object also of this invention is to provide a device of this class in which considerably greater force or energy is required to operate the drive or burnishing means than is required to operate the cutting or sharpening surface of the cutting or other sharpening means, whereby the former may readily operate the latter.

A further important object of this invention is to provide novel and simple means for effecting or producing the necessary force or energy for operating the cutting or sharpening means. 7

A still further important object of this invention is to provide a'device of this class having sharpening or other wheels which are so constructed that the knife or blade is guided thereby, or by the enclosing case, as the knife or blade is drawn through or across the device.

Still another important object of this invention is to provide a novel arrangement of knife guide means through or across which the knife or blade may be drawn, without dulling or otherwise injuring the cutting edge thereof.

An important feature of this invention is to provide a knife sharpener which may be easily and economically fabricated, and particularly one in which the parts may be readily pressed from sheet metal.

With these and other objects in view.,,as will appear hereinafter, I have devised a knife sharpener, having certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions, as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference thereon, which form a part of this application,

. pivot members 3.

in which:

Fig. l is a sectional elevational view of a knife sharpener incorporating my invention in one form, the section being taken through I--] of Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof Fig. 3 is a sectional view thereof in plan, taken through 3-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial side elevation and partial sectional view of a slightly modified form of my knife sharpener, with the section taken through 4-4 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the modification shows.

ing portions thereof broken away and in section to facilitate the illustration; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view in plan, similar to that of Fig. 5, of another slightly modified form of my knife sharpener. V

The knife sharpener shown in Fig. 1 is mounted on a support I consisting principally of an upright rectangular housing l' which is elongated horizontally. It is provided with flanges I at the lower edges of its long sides for securing the support to a table, or the like.

Within the housing I of the support is a frame. 2, consisting mainly of a pair of bars 2 which are pivotally mounted intermediate their endson the opposite long side walls of the housing by On the frame 2 are carried sharpening wheels 4 and .5 which are-here shown as being of the same diameter. They are rotatably mounted in the same plane between the bars and they are operatively connected together.

The sharpening wheels 4 and 5 are of similar construction, and they consist of pairs of wheels or discs 4 and 5, respectively. Both wheels 4 and't'; are provided with V-grooves 4 and 5 respectively, at their peripheral portions between the respective pairs of discs constitutin each of the wheels. As shown in Fig. 3, the peripheral portions of the discs are provided with gear teeth 4 and 5 which mesh with eachother so that one wheel or one set of discs operates or drives the other. In this instance the wheel 4 drives the Wheel 5. y

The discs of each wheel are preferably duplicates, and theymay be pressed from plate stock. The discs 4 are mounted .on a tube 6, and are secured together as a unit, by riveting over the ends .of the tube. The wheel A,.carried by the tube 5, is revolubly mounted at or near one end of the frame 2 by and on a spacer in 7 which extends through the tube 6 and secures the cor- 3 responding ends of the bars 2 of the frame together.

Similarly the discs are mounted and secured together by a tube 8 and this tube is revolubly mounted near the other end of the frame 2 by means of a spacer pin 9, which secures the bars at the latter end together.

Between the discs of each wheel are provided washers In which are preferably made of a readily destructible material, such as paper, for the purpose to be hereinafter described.

The pivot members 3 are preferably riveted in the side walls of the housing l and the inner ends loosely extend into the longitudinal bars 2 which constitute the frame 2. lhe axis of the pivot members 3 is considerably nearer the rotating axis of the wheel 4 than that of the wheel 5. The purpose of the specific location of the pivotal axis or mounting for the frame 2 is to provide an arrangement that the sharp edge of a knife thrust into the V-groove of the wheel 4 and drawn in either direction, will cause the wheel 5 to rotate. The walls of the V-groove of the wheel 4 may be such as to provide a burnishing means for the knife edge drawn therethrough. The walls of the V-groove of the wheel 5 may consist of a cutting means, or substantially a sharpening or grinding surface, so that the knife edge drawn through the groove of the wheel 5 and against such cutting means, will cut or substantially grind the opposite sides of the edge of the knife. Thus, the knife drawn through the device and forced against the wheel 3 will cause the cutting surface of the wheel 5 to cut or grind the knife. The pivotal mounting of the frame 2 will cause both wheels 4 and 5 to engage the knife near its edge, the Wheel cutting the knife and the wheel 4 burnishing the edge of the knife.

The readily destructible material IE between the adjacent surfaces of the respective wheels will be cut or worn away, by the knife drawn through the groove, instead of the knife edge engaging a solid metal bottom which would dull or damage the edge of the knife. Thus, the space between the wheels forms an effective guide for the sharp edge of the knife as the sharpening surfaces of the wheels wear away.

The housing I has a slot coincident with the plane of the grooves for receiving the knife and for guiding the edge of the knife against the wheels, or, in this instance, into the grooves of the wheels 4 and 5.

In the modified structure of my knife sharpener, shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the wheels 4 and 5, which may be of similar construction as those described above, are mounted near the opposite ends of a frame H The opposite sides I l of the frame I I, which rotatably support the wheels 4 and 5 near the opposite ends thereof, are rigidly connected at one end by a saddle portion II In this modification, the bearing pins 1 and 13, which rotatably support the wheels 4 and 5, need not be spacers for rigidly securing the opposite side members H of the frame together.

In this modification, the rocking movement of the frame II is limited. This is done by axially extending the spindle l3 through arcuate slots l in the opposite side walls of the housing I", as shown best in Figs. 4 and 5.

In the modified construction, shown in Fig. 6, the burnishing and cutting wheels 2! and '22 are operatively connected together by gears 23 and 24 of different diameters, causing the wheels to be rotated at different speeds. In this instance the gear 23, mounted on the same axis and operatively connecting with the burnishing wheel 2! is of considerably larger diameter than the gear 24, mounted on the same axis and operatively connected with the cutting wheel 22. In this instance, the pivotal mounting of the frame 2 on the support I is shown nearer the axis of rotation of the burnishing wheel 2|, but the ratio between the gears .23 and 24 is such that the cutting wheel 22 is rotated at a greater speed than the wheel 2|.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, and certain modifications thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the same, but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination, and arrangement, substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, pairs of sharpening wheels, one pair rotatably mounted at each end of the frame, each pair having a V- shaped knife-receiving groove between the same at their peripheries, drive means operatively connecting said pairs of wheels for driving the same with respect to each other, means pivotally supporting the frame, said wheels having means in association therewith for guiding a knife into the peripheral groove of each pair.

2. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, pairs of sharpening wheels, one pair rotatably mounted at each end of the frame, each pair having a V-shaped knife-receiving groove between the same at their peripheries, gear means operatively connecting said pairs of wheels, means pivotally supporting the frame, said wheels having means in association therewith for guiding a knife into the peripheral groove of each pair.

3. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a cutting wheel rotatably mounted on the frame, a knife-receiving drive wheel also rotatably mounted on the frame, drive means operatively connecting the wheels for driving the same with respect to each other so that rotation of said drive wheel effects rotation of said cutting wheel, and means perpendicular to the axes of said wheels for guiding a blade against the peripheral portions of said wheels and substantially perpendicular to the axes thereof.

4. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a cutting wheel rotatably mounted near one end of the frame, a burnishing wheel rotatably mounted near the opposite end of the frame, drive means operatively connecting the wheels for driving the same with respect to each other, and means pivotally supporting the frame, whereby the force of a blade against the burnishing wheel causes rocking of the frame and urging of the cutting wheel against the blade.

5. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a drive wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a cutting wheel also rotatably mounted thereon in substantially the same plane with the drive wheel, a cutting blade being capable of being drawn over and in engagement with both wheels, drive means connecting the two wheels in such a manner that the surface of the latter wheel is moved relative to the surface of the former, and means perpendicular to the axes of said wheels for guiding a blade against the peripheral portions of said wheels and substantially perpendicular to the axes thereof.

6. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a

pair of sharpening wheels, one rotatably mounted at each end of the frame, drive means operatively connecting the wheels for driving the same with respect to each other, and means pivotally supporting the frame, each wheel having a V-shaped knife-receiving groove at its periphery.

7. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a cutting wheel and a burnishing wheel rotatably mounted on the frame, and drive means operatively connecting the wheels for driving the same relative to each other, each wheel comprising pairs of discs having a V-shaped knife-receiving groove between the same at their peripheries, the groove of each wheel being arranged in substantially the same plane.

8. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a cutting wheel rotatably mounted on the frame, a knife-receiving drive wheel also rotatably mounted on the frame, drive means operatively connecting the wheels and driving the same relative to each other, said means being so constructed and arranged that rotation of the drive wheel effects rotation of the cutting wheel so that cutting action may be had at the surface of the latter, each wheel having a V-shaped knife-receiving groove at its periphery, the groove of each wheel being arranged substantially in the same plane.

9. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a cutting wheel rotatably mounted near one end of the frame and capable of cutting a blade drawn tangentially thereof and in engagement therewith, a burnishing wheel rotatably mounted near the opposite end of the frame and capable of being rotated by said blade drawn tangentially thereof and in engagement therewith, drive means operatively connecting the wheels so that rotation of said burnishing wheel effects rotation of said cutting wheel, and guide means for directing a cutting blade against both wheels.

10. A knife sharpener, comprising a frame, a cutting wheel rotatably mounted near one end of the frame, a burnishing wheel rotatably mounted near the opposite end of the frame, drive means operatively connecting the wheels for driving the same with respect to each other, and means pivotally supporting the frame, said burnishing wheel having a peripheral knife-receiving groove adapted to be frictionally engaged by a knife drawn tangentially of said burnishing wheel whereby rectilinear movement of the knife eifects rotation of said cutting wheel.

FRANK R. CHESTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 795,568 Woodworth July 25, 1905 1,112,827 Neil Oct. 6, 1914 1,842,275 Cornell June 1, 1920 1,654,649 Hildebrand Jan. 3, 1928 1,699,510 Gaisman et al Jan. 15, 1929 2,197,119 Barsch Apr. 16, 1940 2,211,014 Ivancin Aug. 13, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 152,940 Great Britain Oct. 28, 1920 

